Embrace the bitcoin future now: UBP urges Pinoys to get their feet wet in blockchain technology

Filipinos are urged to develop skills on blockchain programming which will be in high demand in the coming years, a local bank?s executive said.

In a media roundtable during the bank?s two-day Tech-Up Expo concluded Friday, Union Bank of the Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Edwin Bautista told reporters that the country has to prepare its workforce to meet the demand of this emerging technology.

?We have to develop our blockchain programmers. We need trainings for that, so we can provide good employment to Filipinos,? Bautista said in Filipino.

Blockchain is a digital ledger with a large network of entities, where data is stored in ?blocks? — not in any single location — that are continuously updated and are secured using cryptography.It is commonly associated with bitcoin, but it can be adapted by various industries like banks to accelerate processes and make transactions safer.

UnionBank has already adapted blockchain technology in its internal system as part of is digital transformation journey. UnionBank was also working with rural banks to use blockchain technology in their system.

He said the blockchain platform was also a cost-saving initiative for UnionBank as it made processes and transactions more efficient.

In UnionBank?s 761 internal processes, there are many bank processes that can be ?blockchainized?, such as fund transfer and opening of accounts, among others, said Bautista.

Investing in blockchain technology is also cheaper than legacy technologies, he added.

For the last two years, UnionBank started its digital transformation technology as it eyes to become the country?s premier digital bank.

?When you take a look at our income for the last two years, our core income has been growing at a very fast clip — 20 percent year-on-year. And you can only achieve that when you do something significantly different,? said Bautista.

?The net effect of that is we can book more loans because we are faster, we are able to turn out products much faster, we?re also able to increase our balance sheet sides without increasing our cost,? he added.

A Microsoft 2018 report noted that digital transformation can add $8 billion more to the Philippine economy by 2021. (PNA)